Tour de Turtles: A Sea Turtle Migration Marathon, or simply Tour de Turtles, is an annual online migration-tracking event hosted by the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. Endangered sea turtles are monitored using an attached but harmless satellite tracking device. Caribbean Conservation Corporation biologists gather satellite tracking information in order to better understand sea turtle migration patterns. Understanding sea turtle migration patterns would allow for sea turtle conservation groups to lobby for more sea turtle protection in proven areas with higher sea turtle populations. Sea turtles are the participants for the Tour de Turtle marathon. Participating sea turtles are tracked as they race to be the first to complete a journey that is estimated to last three months. Tour de Turtles aims to increase awareness about different sea turtle species and the threats to their survival. The turtle to first swim the 1,628 miles wins the marathon. Marathon After departing from some of the most important nesting sites in the Western Hemisphere, typically Vero Beach, Florida and Melbourne Beach, Florida, sea turtles will be monitored using Platform Terminal Transmitter (PTT) that send signals via satellite to record their locations and the distances traveled. The data will then be uploaded to interactive maps on the Tour de Turtles website, TourdeTurtles.org. Because the turtles will be released at different times, depending on the species, the distance traveled by each turtle will not be counted until the last turtle is released. This will ensure that the first turtles released do not get a head start in completing the marathon. Each participating sea turtle will have a spot on the "leader board", which will provide an overview of all the turtles' progress. The marathon may end in less than three months, but the program will continue to follow the turtles' progress for up to two years. The first turtle to reach will win the marathon. Although there will be only one turtle marathon winner, another sea turtle has the chance to win the Causes Challenge. Cause Challenge Tour de Turtles includes a fundraiser to fund the fight against numerous sea turtle threats. Along with the marathon, each turtle is symbolically linked to support a cause for multiple primary sea turtle threats; commercial longline fisheries, invasive species predation, plastic marine debris, marine pollution from oil spills and chemical pollution from coastal development, adult harvest for meat consumption, sea level and temperature rise from climate change, commercial trawl